| Iver Huitfeldt Incident | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Operation Prosperity Guardian | |||||||
 HDMS Iver Huitfeldt (F361) underway, June 2018 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Denmark | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown |
 Flemming Lentfer Sune Lund | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
 Yemeni Air Force | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Four drones |
One frigate ~175 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 4 drones | None | ||||||
The Iver Huitfeldt Incident (Danish; Iver Huitfeldt Hændelsen) refers to a confrontation in the Red Sea between four Houthi drones and the Danish HDMS Iver Huitfeldt (F361) as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian. Despite technical difficulties Iver Huitfeldt managed to shoot down all four Houthi drones.
Background edit
As response to the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Houthi movement launched several attacks on Israel and seized or launched aerial attacks on merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea.[1] The international threat to maritime commerce in the region posed by the the Houthis, led to the formation of the United States-led Operation Prosperity Guardian.[2]
Danish shipping companies annually send ca 2,500 ships through the Red Sea and Suez Canal,[3][4] and in 2024 Denmark ranked as the 10th largest maritime nation worldwide.[5] Because of this, Denmark has great interrests in maritime trade in the region.[6] As an act of protecting the maritime commerce, Danish Minister of Defence, Troels Lund Poulsen, announced that the HDMS Iver Huitfeldt (F361) would be sent to the Red Sea, and form part of Operation Prosperity Guardian.[6][7]
The Houthis' attack on international shipping and thus security in international waters is deeply worrying and a serious threat to the international world order. As a major maritime nation, Denmark has a clear interest in contributing to safety at sea. Therefore, the government has decided to send a military contribution by the frigate Iver Huitfeldt to the Red Sea. A decision that is expected to be widely supported in the Folketing
On 29 January 2024 Iver Huitfeldt left Korsør, with ca 175 men, for the Red Sea.[8] Chief of the Royal Danish Navy, Henrik Ryberg, considers the mission to be the 'the sharpest mission since 1864'.[8] The frigate was set to operate in two months.[8]
Confrontation edit
Aftermath edit
Technical failures edit
- ^ "Yemen's Houthis 'will not stop' Red Sea attacks until Israel ends Gaza war". Al Jazeera. 19 December 2023. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ Zhdannikov, Dmitry; Armstrong, Rachel (22 December 2023). "What is U.S.-led Red Sea coalition and which countries are backing it?". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ Gronholt-pedersen, Jacob (29 January 2024). "Danish frigate departs for the Red Sea to assist US-led operation". Reuters.
- ^ "The situation in the Red Sea". danishshipping.dk. 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ MARPRO (2024-01-24). "Denmark is the world's 10th largest maritime nation - Maritime Professionals". Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ a b c "Fregatten Iver Huitfeldt stævner ud for at beskytte skibsfarten i Det Røde Hav". danishshipping.dk (in Danish). 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
- ^ a b "Danmark sender fregat til styrkelse af den maritime sikkerhed i og omkring Det Røde Hav". Forsvarsministeriet (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-04-06.
- ^ a b c "Dansk fregat er læsset med missiler på vej til Det Røde Hav: Et skud kan koste op mod 10 millioner". DR (in Danish). 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-04-06.